How can you look up crime information for a specific neighborhood?

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Crime information for specific neighborhoods is available from several websites, such as CrimeReports.com, MyLocalCrime.com and CrimeMapping.com. Additional crime information sites include RAIDSOnline.com and SpotCrime.com, which has a crime map.

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Most crime information maps are free and utilize an easy-to-use interface that enables visitors to enter a specific address to return a list of various types of crimes at or around the location, which are represented by icons that overlay the map. Many crimes are represented, such as homicide, theft, arson, property crimes and sexual offenses. Users can generally refine results by clicking on the icons to display detailed information about a crime, such as type of crime, name of the offender, crime and offender location, and criminal classification.

Most sites enable users to customize searches to display crimes within a specifically defined radius that focuses on a neighborhood. Users can also customize the time frame of when the crime occurred to look for trends, and return only certain types of crimes. Some sites also allow users to generate alerts when crimes have been committed that fall within user-defined search parameters.

Crime mapping has become a useful tool for law enforcement and other government agencies, as of 2015. It helps to visually track, monitor and analyze where crime occurs, and can be combined with other geographic data, such as school, park or commercial business locations. Crime mapping helps professionals understand what causes crime to devise appropriate and effective responses to it.